While growing up, I read a constant litany explaining that Javelina's were not dangerous. I read, over and over, that all the old stories of them attacking humans were old wives tales, not documented, never happened.
So, I was a bit surprised to come across a news article from the 7th of May, 2016, that had hard evidence of an unprovoked real world attack by a herd of javelinas. It was life threatening for an adult human with two leashed dogs. From fox10phoenix.com:
The victim told authorities that a herd of javelina came out of a nearby wash, crossed the road, and attacked her and her two leashed dogs unprovoked.
Arizona Game & Fish spokesperson Amy Burnett says the woman lost her footing and fell to the ground as two of the javelina began biting her. The victim's husband and a neighbor helped to free the woman from the animals on the attack, and they brought her to safety using a two-by-four plank while the javelina continued to chase her down and attack her dogs.It should have been a defensive gun use (DGU). In Arizona, no permit is needed to put a pistol in your pocket when you go for a walk.
The woman suffered several bites on her upper body and neck area. She had to undergo surgery, and is receiving rabies treatment as a precaution.
A large javelina will run 40 pounds. Any firearm can put them down. A good friend in Panama shot one with a .22 short out of a single shot rifle. It went down decisively. I was very impressed with the power of a 29 grain bullet at 1,000 feet per second. It went through the skull, through the neck, through the vitals and ended up in the rear thigh, shot front to rear.
The rifle was equipped with a homemade silencer that took 30 minutes to build. The loudest sound was the sound of the bullet impacting the target. .22 shorts out of a rifle are fairly quiet to begin with.
The words that the Game and Fish and the reporter use to blame humans for the attack are strained. The woman "lost her footing" instead of being knocked down. Game and Fish have information that a "contributing factor" was human feeding of javelina's, because people reported that people were illegally feeding javelinas in the area as recently as two months ago! From the article:
Game and Fish says two people in the nearby area were reportedly feeding javelina and coyotes as recently as a couple of months ago.Another article says attacks on humans by javelinas are "rare". Hmmm. I thought they never happened! A game camera at my ranch showed a javelina a couple of months ago. The potential of animal attacks has always been a good reason to go about armed. Lots of animals are dangerous in some circumstances. Now we can add another one to the list.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Link to Gun Watch
One of the first things I was warned about when I moved to Arizona as a teenager was to never be on the ground or be armed in Havalina territory because a heard of them will eat you. Get into a tree or on a big rock, they are extremely dangerous in a pack. anyone that says otherwise is an idiot. rounding up cattle sometimes you see them. by themselves no problem get several together and be on guard. they will attack with no provocation.
ReplyDeleteThey need to just get rid of the animals..
ReplyDeleteAZFGD is full of crap. Those things attack any time they feel threatened. They also attack just for the hell of it. Always carry in javelina country.
ReplyDeleteKey words:
ReplyDelete"a herd of javelin" and "two dogs".
Pack mentality and dogs look like other wild dog type animals that attack and kill baby animals.
Interesting. I've always heard javelina don't have to attack because they can usually de-ass the area with a lightning quickness. But perhaps in this case the dogs freaked them out. Wolves in tuxedos. So best defense was an offense. The lady was a flabby meat sack with strings at the end of her arm. Nonetheless, fully agree: always carry. Always. Thank goodness it's easiest to do in AZ as a Constitutional Carry state. Great blog, thanks.
ReplyDelete--Miles Alexander
Funny most cops act like Havalina, maybe that is where they get the name pig.
ReplyDeleteImportant note: their vision is very bad, but their hearing is good, so it is vital that you make as little noise as possible. Even the snap of a twig and they might charge. However, this can also provide a hasty escape. Just this situation happened to a friend, that is, a twig snapped and the group charged. So he picked up a rock and threw it at them. Not a good throw, he missed, but as the rock hit the ground, as a group the javelinas turned and charged it. So by throwing a few more rocks, he was able to make good his escape.
ReplyDeleteI remover when I was a kid maybe 6 or 7 there was a LARGE havalina terrorising the small south west Texas town of Marfa, I think later they said it weighed something like 80-90lbs, big animal. Anyways long story short the DPS, the sherrifs department and some border patrol guys cornered this animal in a small ally that dead ended( no pun intended) between a church and this one border patrol agents house, put a patrol car in the way to block the entrence and blasted the animal to kingdom come, I remember going over to look at the dead hog and it was HUGE blood splattered all over the church and that guys house. The things that count as entertainment in a small town.
ReplyDelete